WORLD CUP SKATEBOARDING

22 years … and then some

The “sport” of skateboarding has seen many changes over the years. Starting out as a way for surfers to keep in shape when there were no waves, it wasn’t long before skateboarding developed it’s own identity. From steel wheels to urethane wheels, loose ball bearings to modern sealed bearings, flat pieces of oak to laminated concaved kicked tail and kicked noses, wheelies to heel flips, from the streets to skateparks, local contest to World Cup events, skateboarding has stood the test of 40 years of change and is here to stay.

World Cup Skateboarding is a result of the changes. WCS grew out the existence of the once thriving National Skateboard Association. Learning from the mistakes that the Skateboard Industry made during the NSA years, former NSA President and Directors, Don & Danielle Bostick have made a commitment to the skaters in developing and directing skateboard competitions around the globe. Focusing on the professional skateboarder, WCS has grown the pro tour since 1994 from 3 events to over 20 events that encompass the United States, Canada, England, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, Malaysia and Brazil to current 2015 adding in more and more countries to include Moscow, Russia!

Follow this timeline, starting at 2014 and detailing each year back to 1993

2014

WCS partners with Bob Burnquist in producing Desafio Megarampa at Dreamland, CA, made for Brazilian TV event in January 2014. The long running Rio Vert Jam changes to the Rio Bowl Jam. WCS partners with Pro Vert Skater, Mike Crum in producing the Texas Vert Revival. WCS President, Don Bostick goes to Nanjing, China for the Junior Olympics as Vice President of the International Skateboard Federation, overseeing skateboarding demos and clinics as the International Olympic Committee lays the ground work for skateboarding in the Olympics in the near future. Martin Karas becomes the new WCS European Events director.

Martin’s first event is the Arnette O Marisquino in Vigo, Spain. He and Dave Duncan become our new events team taking the established event to new heights. With the advent of so many different pro skateboarding events, WCS extends points to competitions that involve the top ranked WCS skaters.

Martin’s first event is the Arnette O Marisquino in Vigo, Spain. He and Dave Duncan become our new events team taking the established event to new heights. With the advent of so many different pro skateboarding events, WCS extends points to competitions that involve the top ranked WCS skaters.

2013

After a long run, WCS ends it’s relationship with ESPN and the X Games, but continue to work with NBC and the Dew Tour. Long time Judges, Charlie Wilkins and Matt Milligan take a more active role in presenting a fresh new image for WCS at the Dew Tour running the riders meetings and communicating with the team managers, etc. WCS expands its European schedule with 2 new sanctioned events in Moscow, Russia.

2012

WCS adopts a new Tier system for the Bowl Series, based on the amount of prize purse at each event. Pro Tec Pool Party, Bowl A Rama events, Tier One Competitions with prize money well over $30,000. Bowl A Rama announces a new comp in New York City. Don Bostick travels to Hu Zhou, China for the China Open, where he ran a judging clinic and spoke about the history of action sports. One month later he returned to Beijing, China as guest of the CX Open Street Competition in the Birds Nest, the Olympic Stadium. A relationship is being formed with the Chinese Extreme Sports Federation with WCS sanctioning future events in China. In Colorado Springs, CO a new event called the Rocky Mountain Rampage takes place with bowl and vert events.

2011

WCS returns to Antwerp, Belgium after 20 years for the Burn Air Attack featuring street and vert for men and the girls. Ultra Bowl in Malmo, Sweden becomes a part of the WCS Bowl Series. Vans expands bowl skating with the Amateur Combi Pool Party featuring Amateurs 14 and Under plus 15 and Over Divisions. Vans also adds the Girls Combi Pool Classic, giving the girls their own event featuring Pro and Amateur Divisions.

2010

Mystic Cup is back! As well as a new street event in San Francisco called the City Underground. X Games will host all events in downtown LA at the Staple Center and LA Coliseum. X Games Brazil is also back and a new Street event in Forteleza, Brazil titled the Ceara World Cup. ISF World Championships also repeat in Boston, MA.

WCS faces the world wide economic blow and loses a few events; Mystic Skate Cup, GvR, Soul Bowl, Lincoln City, but adds a the Nescau Street Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

WCS organizes and judges the first ever ISF World Championships in Boston, MA, the first stop of the Alli Dew Tour for 2009. ISF announcers WCS as it’s official Operating Partner and Competition Company. Don Bostick continues as 1st Vice President of the ISF.

2009

WCS recreates the rankings for vert and street by announcing a new Points Race. Events include the Oi Vert Jam in Brazil, the Asian X Games, the Maloof Money Cup, X Games, with the top skaters competing at the final event, the T-Mobile Extreme Playground in Berlin, Germany.

WCS continues to build the Concrete Bowl Series starting off with a new bowl comp in New Zealand. AST Dew Tour adds an event to take place in Beijing, China. X Games adds a new event in Sao Paulo, Brazil .

These events will be considered the Major Events of the WCS competition schedule. The over all points winners, using a best of 3 points system, will be crowned the WCS Grand Slam Champions, this will also include the girls for street. The final stop of the tour is a new event called the Maloof Money Cup, which will feature the highest purse ever for a skateboarding competition, over $450,000, with the first place winner in street taking home $100,000.00

2008

WCS makes some major changes in the points system. New for 2008, we have created the Grand Slam of Pro Skateboarding, featuring 4 vert comps and 4 street comps.

2007

2007 takes off with the OI Vert Jam in Brazil, the Asian X Games move to Shanghai, China. ESPN announces the first X Games Mexico as well as the X Games Dubai. T-Mobile adds an Invitational event to take place in Berlin, Germany. The World Championships move to Rotterdam, Holland for the next 2 years.

2006

2006 is set with the second year of the Dew Action Sports Tour, the Concrete Bowl Series continues and adds an event at Bondi Beach, Australia. The World Championships celebrates 25 years in Munster, Germany and X Games signs a deal to stay in Los Angeles till 2009.

Vans drops the Triple Crown Series, but continues to support skateboarding with the Pro Tec Pool Party taking place at the Vans Skatepark in Orange County, CA, featuring the largest purse ever for a pool contest. The event also kicks off the WCS Concrete Bowl Series for 2005. The World Championships move from Dortmund, Germany back to Munster, Germany.

The Asian X Games will take place in Seoul, Korea for the first time. WCS is working with local skateboard associations in Korea to put together a successful competition of Asian and international competitors.

NBC announces the Dew Action Sports Tour – featuring Skateboarding, Freestyle BMX and Freestyle Moto. WCS takes the role as Sport Organizer for all the skateboarding events. The tour includes 5 Domestic stops, all at major indoor arenas. The Tour will have it’s own points system.

2005

The Gravity Games move to the Outdoor Channel and are scheduled to return to Cleveland, Ohio. Street adds 5 more skaters to the invitational list. Dave Duncan and Steve Ruge of WCS continue on as the sport organizers. The Gravity Games go more grass roots moving the venue away from the big outdoor arena style to skateparks– Vert at Woodward East and Street at FDR in Philadelphia, PA.

X Games changes the invitational system for 2004 and invites 10 street and 10 vert skaters instead of the 20 in vert and 20 in street as in all the previous years. Live TV is given as the reason; ESPN looks to improve their TV Ratings.

WCS becomes a board member of the new USA Skateboarding Association, organized as a non-profit to become the recognized National Governing Body for Skateboarding in the United States, with hopes of controlling skateboarding as it starts looking at the 2008 Olympics in China. Don Bostick is voted in as one of the Vice Presidents along with Tony Hawk and Jim Fitzpatrick. Don also becomes chairman of the International Committee and helps to organize the first International Skateboard Federation meeting at Slam City jam in Vancouver, BC, Canada – April 29, 2004.

The second annual Snickers Game On Soul Bowl event will take place outside of London, England featuring the top bowl and pool riders. Returning Champion, Rune Glifberg commits to defend his title. All will take place at a giant Rock Festival called Download, featuring Metallica, Linkin Park, Korn, Deftones and Cypress Hill.

2004

2004 a new points system is added to WCS to include Concrete Bowl Skating. Events include the Quiksilver Bowl Riders in Marseille, France, the Etnies Bowl Riders, in Austria, the Oregon Trifecta, Three concrete parks in Oregon, the Strawberry Bowl in Northern California and a new event at the Etnies skatepark in Lake Forest, CA.

2003

2003 was started with the Nokia Total Board – vert ramp in Amsterdam, the Netherlands event on January 4 & 5, extending the competition calendar to include 10 months. Netherlands is now added to the list of countries with WCS events.

2002

WCS will kick off the first pro event of the year by adding Australia to the list of pro events with the Globe World Cup, the first Rules Committee meeting was held in Oceanside, CA with pro skaters Buster Halterman, Neal Hendrix, Matt Dove, Pierre Luc and Mathias Ringstrom, setting guide lines for the events in 2003. The 3rd annual Open Riders Meeting is also held in Oceanside in October. The Girls vert rankings was added and the first champion was announced – Jen O’Brien.

As more and more skaters are coming from around the world to the United States to get a piece of the American Pie. WCS Director, Danielle Bostick finds herself spending more and more time writing letters for skaters to obtain a Visa to enter the country. Brazil leads the way with the most requested letters, Australia is second.

2001

2001 was highlighted with the first ever real street event at the ESPN X Games in Philadelphia. The WCS invitational event featured 10 top street skaters on the steps of City Hall. A real skate spot where skaters received tickets for skating on a daily basis. Philadelphia’s own Kerry Getz was the winner and Rick McCrank was the best trick winner session. Speaking of best trick, World War 3 in Huntington Beach, CA with a crazy new best session format, presented winner, Geoff Rowley with the highest prize money ever given in skateboarding history, $20,001.

In 2001, WCS sanctioned a pro/am series in Asia that served as a qualifier for the Asian X Games to be held in 2002 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Events were held in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. Sasha Steinhorst representing WCS works with the local skate associations in organizing each competition. Steve Ruge represented WCS at the Thailand event.

2000

In 2000, WCS started maintaining a Ranking System for North America, Europe and South America as well as a World Ranking (Each year the top skaters are honored at the Transworld Skateboarding Awards, a creation of TWS’ Louise Balma and WCS’ Danielle Bostick). The NBC Gravity Games, Alp Challenge, Skateboarding Grand Prix and Gliss Expo joined the WCS Tour as point events. Head Judge, Steve Ruge aka Shrewgy, forms the WCS Judging Pool, thus organizing and scheduling judges for all events. With the advent of many concrete skateparks being built around the country, the Concrete Challenge series kick off in Colorado in the towns of Breckenridge and Salida. Omar Hassan, was the first overall winner of the series.

Also in 2000, A new division of WCS, World Cup Scoring, lead by our Web Site Master and Computer Scoring person, Jason Toutolmin was launched. Jason has created a WCS Scoring Program, as well as a scoring staff for skateboarding or snowboarding events. World Cup Scoring is now doing all the scoring and online registration for the Vans Triple Crown events for snowboarding, BMX and Skateboarding.

1999

In 1999 at the Transworld Skateboarding Industry Conference, the new WCS Competition Guide and Rule Book is passed out to the Industry. As a result of input from many skaters and years of research, rules are defined and formats confirmed. The Book lists the WCS Pool of Judges, Rider Representatives, Event Promoters and Ramp Builders. The book has been sent around the USA and several countries to help local organizations in running competitions. In Canada the book was an aid to the newly sanctioned Amateur series, the Canadian Cup, as well as competitions in New Zealand.

1996-1998

Between 1996 and 1998, skating was confused about all the attention being received and perceived by television. WCS kept a good mix between the hype, with core events like SPOT, Ventura’s Skate Street and the Mystic World Cup. The Vans Triple Crown of Skateboarding events become a part of the WCS Tour. Europe goes off and Germany steps up after the skater’s boycott of ’96. WCS supports the skater’s union, it fades fast as skaters realize they can turn to WCS with their concerns. WCS does more to help with Immigration matters for skaters moving to the USA from Europe, Australia, Canada and South America. In 1998, WCS goes to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the first World Cup event in South America. The WCS Web Site: www.wcsk8.com continues to grow in coverage and hits. More and more pro skaters use our web site to stay informed and check their rankings.

1995

In 1995, WCS started a ranking system for the pro skaters using what has now come to be called the World Cup Skateboarding Tour. Ed Templeton was crowned the first World Cup Street Champion and Mike Frazier took the honors for Vert. This same year ESPN came to WCS and skateboarding went into the living rooms of millions via the X Games. Tony Hawk came out of retirement to win the first X Games.

1993-1994

In 1993, the idea for WCS came to Don Bostick as a result of having spent four years helping with the Munster Monster Mastership World Cup in Munster, Germany. Even though the skate Industry was at a low, he saw the need for an Organization that encompassed more than just North America and one that worked for the skater’s best interests. After a few conversations with Titus Dittman and Danielle Bostick, a vision was born and WCS kicked off its first event in Vancouver, Canada with Slam City Jam in May of 1994.

Recognized World Wide as the Organizers for Pro Skateboarding Competitions and Events. WCS looks forward to the future.